News about reptiles and amphibians. This may be news from herpetologists, organizations, but also from private persons. Everyone is welcome to send me some news about the protection, abusing, mistreatment, discoveries, etc., of these fascinating animals .

The Anhui Yangtze Alligator Nature Reserve is preparing to put the
alligators in a natural environment later this month, marking the
center's eighth attempt to do so since the program started in 2002.
So far, the nature reserve has succeeded in releasing 45 Chinese
alligators into the wild, and the six new members will bring the total
to 51, sources with the reserve said.
"The experiments were successful, as the released alligators began
laying eggs in 2008 and the alligators that hatched in the wild are in
good conditions," said Wang Chaolin, deputy director of the nature
reserve.
Wang said researchers need to choose young and healthy alligators so
they will survive harsh natural conditions. The alligators will also
undergo DNA testing before being released to avoid in-breeding.
The researchers will install radio transmitters on the reptiles to
trace their whereabouts and collect data for scientific study, Wang
said.
Anhui is home to the majority of the country's Chinese alligators,
which are widely known as the Yangtze alligators because they live along
the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
China has put the Chinese alligator as a priority on its protection
list and established the Chinese Alligator Breeding Research Center in
Anhui in 1979.

Thanks to human efforts to aid in the animal's survival such as
enlarging their habitats, the number of the critically endangered
Chinese alligators living in the wild has been growing over the past few
years.
The number of wild Chinese alligators is currently estimated to
exceed 150, excluding the scores of captive-bred animals that have been
reintroduced to the wild, in contrast to about 100 in 2005, Wang said,
citing a recent census.
The breeding center now has more than 1,000 captive alligators.